The Talk
by Last.one.02
Summary: Jesse tries to kick Ethan out of Leanne's bedside, but the army doctor's refusal just confirmed Jesse's suspicions about Leanne and Ethan. So he ends up having "the talk" with Willis. The truth is Ethan just wanted to be there, when Leanne wakes up, kiss her, hold her and never let go. Ethan/Leanne pairing. Set in Fallen Angels.


Leanne's eyes were closed and for once she looked peaceful and at ease. The monitor beside her bed beeped steadily, the IV with fluids went into her vein and oxygen mask hung on the bed. A bruise covered a wound on her left eyebrow. She looked somewhat sickly in the white hospital gown, but it's been hours since she actually was sick.

The room had been full of doctors and nurses before, but Jesse had kicked everybody out so Leanne could have some privacy and rest. Imagine Jesse's surprise, when he strolled into his girl's room to give her another bag of fluids and expecting it to be empty, but instead a very sore and tired looking Ethan Willis was sitting on an uncomfortable chair by her bedside holding her hand.

"I thought I asked you to leave," Jesse said from the doorway.

Ethan turned around and rubbed his forehead, he had to blink a few times to keep his eyes open and focus. "Jesse," he acknowledged the senior ER nurse. He had dozed off, but he was awake and alert quickly. Ethan let go of Leanne's hand casually, hoping that Jesse didn't see it, but of course he did.

"You look like crap," Jesse commented and entered the room fully.

"Oh, stop it, I'm gonna blush," Ethan made a joke, but he didn't have the energy to laugh.

Jesse ignored Ethan and looked over Leanne, he checked her IV and hung up the bag he was holding. "What's that?" Ethan asked, slightly alarmed.

"Some more fluids," Jesse said calmly and hooked the new bag into her IV, he removed one of the empty ones and threw that away.

"She's good, right?" Ethan asked and did his best to remember everything that had happened in the past hours.

Jesse looked over her again and brushed her hair. "Yeah, she'll be okay," Jesse said with a smile. "You know there are beds in the hospital, where doctors can sleep. Hell, there are even couches everywhere," he hinted at him, but Jesse had had his suspicions for awhile now about the army doctor.

Ethan sent Jesse a look, but he didn't move.

"I'm fine right here," Ethan said and glanced at Leanne. He was intending to be right there the moment she opened her eyes.

Suspicions confirmed.

"Come on, get up, we need to talk," Jesse said and waved with his hand for Ethan to follow him. Ethan looked at Jesse curiously, but he didn't stand up. "Come on now," Jesse encouraged him, but Ethan only furrowed his brows – there was nothing more important than sitting by Leanne's bedside.

"Ethan, we need to talk," Jesse repeated himself, his voice was demanding.

"About what?" Ethan spat out louder than he had planned, winced and looked over to make sure Leanne didn't wake up – she was out cold and completely oblivious to her surroundings. Ethen turned back to Jesse.

Jesse looked at Leanne and pointed towards her with his chin. Ethan nodded and got up. Even though Jesse followed him with narrowed eyes, he kissed Leanne's forehead and then walked up to Jesse while stretching himself. Sitting in an uncomfortable chair for long periods at a time used to be easier on his body.

Jesse closed the door to Leanne's room behind them and motioned another nurse something Ethan didn't quite catch. Jesse lead Ethan into a lounge, which was luckily empty. Ethan checked his watch and noticed it was just past 10 pm – he'd been awake for over 24 hours now.

Ethan poured himself a cup of cold coffee that was quite possibly made in the morning and sat down on the couch.

Jesse set his jaw and chose to stand by the table, while Ethan sat, yawned and drank the cold coffee.

"What do you wanna talk about that's so important?" Ethan asked with annoyance.

"Leanne," Jesse said calmly.

Ethan swallowed the coffee and waited. He knew the talk was happening sooner or later, but he realized even so, he was not ready for it, he didn't even know what to expect. After all he wasn't entirely sure Jesse knew the full story.

"What about her?" Ethan asked in his subtle fishing experience, but Jesse didn't take the bait.

"I've known Leanne ever since she was a resident here. I saw her so in love, I saw her in a pretty white dress, I was in the maternity ward, when her kids were born, when they started kindergarten, when her eldest went to school and I was there to see her lose it all," Jesse talked calmly.

"I know about the accident," Ethan said quickly. "What does this have to do with anything?"

Ethan drank more of his coffee and made a face – cold coffee was not his favorite, but he needed caffeine and he'd take it wherever he could find it. He passed the mug between his hands to give him something to do, something to distract himself with.

"I don't wanna see her like that ever again," Jesse said.

"You won't," Ethan said confidently.

Jesse nodded. "And what happens, when you get tired of playing a doctor in Angels and decide to pick another hospital or another war is where you have to go? What happens then?"

"I'm not going anywhere."

Jesse nodded with disbelief. Ethan finished his cup of coffee. "What does it have to do with Leanne?" Ethan played dumb.

"Do you think I'm a fool?" Jesse asked and Ethen could tell he was controlling his temper and it wasn't easy. Ethan shook his head to Jesse's answer.

"Did Leanne talk to you?" Ethan asked cautiously.

It was Jesse's turn to shake his head. "For four years she has had this pained look in her eyes. Her smile isn't quite as bright and her eyes don't twinkle anymore. I've noticed a slight twinkle in them again recently. I've also noticed her eyes twinkle the most, when you're around. And man, you are around a lot these days," Jesse explained.

Ethan shrugged his shoulders and stood from the couch, he walked by Jesse to the sink to wash his mug. "You seem to be well informed," he said with his back towards the nurse.

"How long has thing been going on?" Jesse asked.

"You mean how long have I been sleeping with Leanne?" Ethan asked bluntly and turned around. Jesse had narrowed his eyes and he was pointing a finger towards him threateningly. "What, you didn't think of her as a woman with needs?" Ethan asked innocently, but that was only angering Jesse.

"Don't talk of her like this," Jesse said with fire in his eyes.

Ethan didn't react to that – Jesse didn't scare him much, but then again not much seemed to scare him anymore. He leaned against the sink and held onto it with his hands, his fingers gripped the metal. "It's been little over six months since I asked her out and we started," Ethan paused, he wanted to tease Jesse further by saying something like sleeping together or having sex, but for the sake of Mama, he changed his mind, "seeing each other."

"Truth be told, I did not expect this," Jesse said calmly with a hint of smile on his face.

Ethan was puzzled. He tilted his head and ran his fingers through his short hair. "You didn't think she'd like a guy like me?"

Jesse shook his head. "No, I didn't. I didn't even think she'd like working with you, much less seeing you voluntarily outside work," Jesse said honestly.

"Well, I wasn't planning on liking working here either," Willis said honestly.

"And I don't like you around her," Jesse said in brutal honesty.

Willis was taken back, he wanted to get Jesse's approval, but he didn't really need it. "You don't think I'm good for her?" he asked.

"I don't know if you're good for her, but I know for a fact that you're not good enough for her," Jesse said and Ethan's face grew even more serious. "Nobody is good enough," he added.

Ethan nodded in agreement, even though he was hoping to be good enough for her someday. Leanne liked him, there were no problems with that, but he knew nobody would ever be good enough for Leanne in Jesse's eyes.

"You know they say opposites attract," Jesse said and smiled to himself. "But you and Leanne are anything but that. You're both dedicated and good doctors, you work well together, you butt heads with each other. In ER you are both cowboys – you're reckless and willing to do anything to save a life, even if it means endangering your own."

"I have to admit, we had a rocky start, but we managed to figure it out," Ethan agreed. They were butting heads a lot in the beginning, but once he learned how Angels works, they gained respect for each other and they became a team. And a damn good one, one might say. "We have plenty of differences, believe me," Ethan added with a soft smile.

"Yeah, yeah," Jesse said and shook his head. "I don't need to know about that." Jesse started walking towards Ethan with determination, he stopped in front of him. "But I need to know that you will take care of her, cherish her and love her. Leanne has suffered enough and I don't ever wanna see her as broken as she was four years ago. She doesn't trust people, she doesn't date, she doesn't let anybody in and she doesn't talk about her family with anyone who wasn't there and even with us she doesn't talk unless it's necessary. If she's opened up to you and you leave, it will be almost as bad. So if you are planning on running away or breaking her heart, I need to know, because I'm gonna be here to pick up the pieces and see that fragile shell of a woman again," Jesse said seriously.

"I'm not leaving her, ever. I love her," Ethan said just like it was natural and there was no other option. Jesse relaxed visibly.

"You'd better, otherwise you'll face the fury of the nurses and I can promise you this, it's not gonna be pretty," Jesse threatened.

"Noted," Ethan said as calmly as ever.

"Good to see that we're on the same page," Jesse said with a wide fake smile.

Ethan nodded and agreed.

"That's all from me, you can get back now. I recommend you get some sleep, because you look really bad," Jesse said to Ethan on a lighter tone. Ethan shrugged his shoulders and brushed off the order.

"How did you know about me and Leanne?" Ethan asked out of curiosity.

"Oh please, like you think you can get away with anything in Mama's house," Jesse said.

Ethen raised his eyebrow. "It took you so long enough to come talk with me, you can't have known for that long," Ethan said expertly.

Jesse sighed – he was caught in a lie and quite possibly for the first time he had to admit, that something was going on right before his eyes and he didn't have a clue. And even worse, something was going on with Leanne. "I suspected after you operated on the police officer with explosive in her leg. When Leanne wanted to come help and you told her no, I realized it wasn't because you didn't want her to die, it was because you were scared of losing her."

Ethan had to accept that, because yeah, he felt more terrified knowing Leanne was there than before and he realized that this might be the last time he'll see her. He kept his eyes on her, so in case of explosion he could jump her down and cover her and she might have a chance of survival,"

"But I got my confirmation today, just now," Jesse added with a wide fake smile. Ethan realized that now he had to tell Leanne, that he just told Jesse, that they are in fact together.

They left the lounge and walked side by side through the hall.

"One piece of advice from Leanne's work-husband – don't ever call her honey. That's what her husband used to call her," Jesse said casually. Ethan thanked him and turned into Leanne's room. To his surprise, a foldable bed was made up neatly at Leanne's side. Ethan looked back to see Jesse smiling and shrugging his shoulders. Ethan thanked him politely, entered the room and almost fell to the bed. He barely heard Jesse instructing on-call nurse not to disturb them and then the door was closed. He reached over and took Leanne's hand in his and let the sound of her steady heartbeats lull him to sleep.

***CB***

It was still dark, when Leanne woke. Even though she had been sleeping for a long time, she still felt exhausted by everything that had happened in the past days. Slight snoring was coming from the makeshift bed from her side and even though it was dark, she knew it was Ethan – Jesse would be much louder and she couldn't think of anyone else that could be there. She felt his hand covering hers and Leanne grew cautious – she remembered where they were.

"Ethan," she hissed.

Ethan moved slightly, but he didn't open his eyes.

"Ethan, wake up," she hissed louder and tried to pull her hand from his, but Ethan didn't let her.

Groggy Ethan lifted his head from the pillow and his eyes scanned the room for anything out of the ordinary, but finding nothing, he relaxed. "What's the matter?" he asked her.

"Let go of my hand and you need to sneak out before anyone sees you here," Leanne whispered.

Ethan released her hand, he got up and sat on her bedside. Even in dim light, having just survived a deadly virus, she looked beautiful. "You look great," he said sheepishly.

"Ethan," Leanne hissed. Ethan completely misread her hissing – it might have been his sleep deprived brain that wasn't as clear. He leaned down and pressed his lips against her. His misinterpretation became clear when she pressed her palm against his shoulder and pushed.

"Leanne, what's wrong?" he asked completely oblivious to her problems.

"You, here," Leanne said. "Anybody could walk in and find you here."

Ethan looked at the door, and remembered Jesse telling a nurse not to let anyone in. "I've got it covered, nobody's coming," Ethan said and tried to kiss her again, but she stopped him. Her palm was firmly against his chest.

"Nurses don't like you this much to listen to you," she said knowingly.

"No," Ethan agreed. "But they adore their Mama."

Leanne's eyes grew wide. "Mama knows?" she asked. "Did you tell him?"

"Yes and no. He suspected something for awhile, not as long as we've been together, but I accidentally confirmed it last night," Ethan explained.

"And he gave you his speech?" Leanne asked with annoyance.

"We came to an understanding," he said and smiled.

Leanne rolled her eyes and Ethen caressed her cheek, he ran his fingers through her hair, he loved when she wore her hair down, but usually she had her hair tied up. She looked beautiful indeed. "You're gorgeous," he said.

"Save the flattery, we need to talk with Mama," Leanne insisted.

Ethan looked at the monitor for the time. "It's a little past 4 am, Leanne, we can do this in the morning," he reasoned.

She gave up the fight. "But first thing in the morning we need to talk with Mama and make sure our secret stays secret," Leanne said.

Ethen nodded, he took her hand from against his chest and kissed her fingers, Leanne smiled a little. "Can I now kiss you properly or do you have any other objections?" he asked with a goofy smile.

"No more objections," Leanne said with a smile.

"Finally," Ethen muttered and leaned down for the third time, but this time he was successful in kissing her like he'd wanted ever since he realized that she'd be okay. Leanne shared his passion. Ethan cupped her face between his hands gently, she had her arms around his neck and messing with his hair at his nape. She was out of breath fast and gently pushed him. "Guess I'm still recovering," she joked at her shortness of breath.

"It was a pretty nasty virus you had," Ethan helped. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," Leanne said and smiled. She cupped his face with her hand and ran her thumb over his cheek. "Thank you for not giving up," she said sincerely.

"We weren't gonna let you and Ariel and Mario and Elliot and Malaya and all the others just die. If the roles had been reversed, I know you'd done the same thing," he said.

"Probably," Leanne said.

Ethan leaned down again and wrapped his arms around her tight. "I'm so glad you didn't die today," he whispered and let out a breath – a certain tension – he'd been unknowingly holding in ever since Raul fell onto Leanne and his blood tripped into her wound.

"That makes two of us," she whispered.

He held her tight against him and breathed her in, even though she smelled more like hospital than her usual mixture of perfume, blood, sanitizer and she quite often carried Jesse's perfume on top of hers as well. Lately Ethan realized, that she might have just a little bit of his on her too, but he'd like to think that sometime in the future she'd start carrying much more of his perfume on top of hers and maybe slightly less Jesse's.

Ethan closed his eyes against her neck and it was the most comfort he had had in the past days. It was also his way of really making sure that she's really okay. Ethan kissed her neck and let his lips hover against her skin, it felt hot against his, a little feverish even. He was alerted, he lifted his head and moved his palm to her forehead to check her temperature.

"You still have a fever," he whispered.

"Just a little," Leanne said. "It'll go down soon enough."

"I know," Ethan replied.

Ethan kissed her cheek and hugged her again. "I've been wanting to do this ever since you got infected," he said and kissed her again. "The other things I want to do with you will have to wait until you're discharged," he added mischievously after he pulled away.

"Considering I was highly infectious, it was out of question," she said. "Though it is nice to see you out of space suit. Scrubs look much better on you," she said.

"I've come to find them quite comfortable," he commented as he'd switched from wearing his uniform to work into wearing scrubs just recently.

Ethan yawned and leaned down, he buried his face against her hair and closed his eyes. "I miss the smell of your perfume," he said against her hair. "And your shampoo too," he added.

Leanne smiled.

"I can't wait to get home," she said.

Ethan kissed her hair and brushed his cheek against hers. "You're not gonna like it, but Jesse wants to keep you 48 hours for observation," Ethan said.

"Jesse isn't my doctor," Leanne said hopefully.

"Campbell agreed," Ethan crushed her hopes. "But you've been here close to 24 already," Ethan lightened her mood. "You could use some time to catch up on your sleep," he added.

"So could you," she said.

Ethan mumbled something, then lifted his head. "Can I sleep here?" he asked, but he knew the answer was gonna be no. He covered her lips with his finger. "And before you say no, I will set an alarm and get back to the other bed before Jesse has to switch your IV, no-one will know. I've really missed you," he almost begged.

"Sure," Leanne said, which surprised him, but he chose not to argue. "On one condition," she said. "Name it," Ethan replied. Leanne smiled, caressed his back and moved slightly to the side of the bed. "You will wake me before you leave," she said. Ethan nodded and agreed to her terms. "And you will get in this bed properly. You don't look too comfortable and I've become to like having you around," she named her second condition to which Ethan kicked off his shoes and lifted his legs over to the bed.

Both of them kept shifting to find a comfortable position in the small bed, finally they were both on their side, facing each other and Ethan had his arms around her. There was IV in her left arm, so that also limited her mobility in bed. Her head was on his shoulder and her fingers against his chest. The blanket covered their bodies.

That's how Jesse found them in the morning. He was there a bit earlier than usual to change her IV bags. His first reaction was to kick Ethan out of the bed and his second would have been to kick Ethan out of the room, but he saw how good they were together. He saw the small smile on Leanne's face and that was the only reason he didn't kick Willis out. He quietly changed her fluids, quickly checked to see if everything was in order and then he left the room and gave the nurses order not to let anyone in the room.

They could have few more hours before Ethan has to be awake and back at work.


End file.
